One of Paul’s coworkers recently dropped a pretty envelope on his desk. When Paul opened it, he saw it was a wedding invitation with a reply-by date just one week in the future. What did we think of this?

We were so excited! We were friendly with the couple, but we weren’t able to invite them to our wedding a year-and-a-half earlier, so we certainly weren’t expecting to be included in their wedding stories. Though we knew of some coworkers who got wedding invites weeks earlier than us, we weren’t at all offended. We heard that the many international guests the couple invited to their wedding couldn’t attend, so there was room for more people. Here’s why else we were thrilled:

We didn’t stress about a wedding gift. A few of our friends were also late invite recipients, so we decided to all chip in to get the couple something nice from their registry. Usually, I give cash and question the amount I’m giving a million times. It was so much more carefree this way, and I knew there were four other guests contributing the same amount as me.

We didn’t go crazy about our outfits. Maybe I’m nuts, but I try not to wear the same dress to weddings that’ll have the same guests in attendance. Since we were B-list guests, we had never been to a wedding with most of the other people in attendance. So I was able to wear whatever dress I felt like.

Our table wasn’t scrutinized by other guests. At one wedding, Paul and I sat at a table next to the bride’s family. She told me she placed us there because she knew we wouldn’t be the subject of embarrassing wedding stories--we’d be on our best behavior (and we were). At this wedding, though, we were seated in a corner, and, well, a table sing-along ensued. (Photographic evidence below--yes, I am singing into a spoon.) Nobody saw or cared.

If we couldn’t have made it, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. I’ve only ever turned down one wedding invitation, and I felt awful about it. It was for my friend Stephanie’s wedding in Cancun just a few weeks before our own wedding. Simply put, we didn’t have the money to make the trip. I agonized over how to break the news, but of course Stephanie 100% understood our decision. Had we not been able to attend this wedding, I know the couple would’ve been equally understanding since they weren’t able to give us much notice.

It was another chance to have a great time. Maybe being a B-list guest wouldn’t be fun for those who hate weddings. But in case you haven’t noticed, I love them. Plus, this wedding was in February, aka not wedding season. It was months since we went to a wedding and a few more months until we had another to attend.

Would you go to a wedding if you were a B-list guest? Have you ever known you were a B-list guest? Did you go to the wedding?